words

chapter thirteen concluded

hangzhou thru my eyes

I first came to Hangzhou for a one day tour in the summer of 1998. We didn't stay long and we spent all of our time on the southwest side of West Lake across the lake from the city. I remember the lushness of the area - trees, low mountains, the lake, the flowers. And the fresh air.

I returned again in the summer of 2000 to teach for a month in Zhejiang University's Summer English Camp. It was a HOT summer; temperatures often were in the high nineties (Fahrenheit - that's the high 30's in Celsius) for weeks. But it didn't deter me from exploring the city. Almost everyday, I would head to West Lake which was only a little over a mile from the campus.

The view as you come upon West Lake is always stunning. A large, shimmering lake framed by low mountains on three sides. It seems that no matter which angle you approach from, the sun literally sparkles the calm waters. And the distant mountains add depth to the view. It never failed to stir me that summer.

At the end of that summer, I had to return to finish my contract at Jinzhou Normal University. The following year, I was invited by Zhejiang University to return on a full-time basis when my Jinzhou contract finished. I gladly accepted and so in the summer of 2001, I moved to Hangzhou - memories of my previous visits dancing in my head.

When I arrived in August of 2001, it was still beautiful. And HOT. Much had changed, though, in that year. Lots of new construction was happening in the city and its outskirts. Roads had been widened. But West Lake still shimmered like scattered pearls.

By 2002, though, things began to change. China had entered the WTO and people were being encouraged to buy cars. Lots of cars. By the end of 2002, traffic was choking the newly-widened roads and many ancient buildings were being torn down, whole hutongs eliminated so new through roads could be built to siphon off traffic from the main roads.

The roads weren't the only things choking - the air had become thick with the smog from all the new car owners. Hangzhou is a large city in terms of population, but it is very compact in terms of size. Why so many people were buying cars was beyond me. (My Chinese friends told me the reason was that people want to show off, "Hey, I have a car! Look at me!"

Whatever.

I spent a week in the hospital during the fall of 2002. I was on an upper floor with an unobstructed view across the city and down toward the Qiantang River that lies about 3 miles to the south of the city. Each morning that week, I was up early and gazed out the window. Most mornings, I could not even see the river, just 3 miles away. Thick smog enclosed the city.

Bad the saddest part was that the view of West Lake had changed, perhaps forever. Since last summer, I have visited West Lake dozens of times. (Not difficulty to do. I live about a mile from the lake and when heading downtown, I have to go along Lakeside Drive - Hubin Lu).  I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a clear view across the lake to the mountains. Most of the time, the mountains are completely obliterated by the smog. I find now that the best time to visit West lake is immediately after a 3 day rain has cleansed the air. But you better act quick, because within a day, the smog returns. And the mountains are gone again.

But everyone in Hangzhou is too busy building new buildings and bigger roads to notice. Or they're happily whizzing by in their new toys (cars) to notice. It's a shame.

Take away the view of West Lake framed by her mountains and it becomes simply a common lake - indistinguishable from any of thousands of lakes in China and the world. And Hangzhou becomes just a common city with a common lake.

That's the real shame.

OK, still, life is good in Hangzhou especially for a "foreigner". Unlike many Chinese cities (such as Jinzhou), it is a very livable city from a western perspective. The infrastructure is good. The transportation system is excellent (so why do all these Hangzhou people want to buy cars?). The main railway lines north and south and east to west run through Hangzhou. Word is that the next branch of the world's first maglev train recently unveiled in Shanghai (between the Pudong Airport there and downtown) will run from Shanghai to Hangzhou cutting the travel time between the two cities from 2 hours to 30 minutes.

The telecom situation is also good. Most homes and businesses can get ADSL connections in a matter of days. Because it is a tourist city,  a provincial capital, and a business center quite close to Shanghai, there are hundreds of hotels and a score of high-quality hotels. Among the "foreign" managed hotels are a Shangri-La, Radisson, Novatel, and a Holiday Inn. Foreigners looking for a good, authentic western meal can find them there.

Or can you head to one of the dozens of KFC or McDonald's restaurants scattered around town. There's even a Pizza Hut. Interestingly, pizza has become a hot item in Hangzhou and there are AT LEAST a dozen pizza restaurants now in the city. In fact, most of them serve much better pizza than the Pizza Hut (no surprise to me).

There are even a couple of foreigner-owned bars in town (Kana's owned by an African named Kana, and the Shamrock Pub owned by an Irish lass named Rowena). There you can get real "western-style" service. (I'll write about "Chinese service" in a later chapter.) You'll almost forget you're in China ... until you walk back out the door into the din and smog and spitting.

Anyway, Hangzhou is quite livable for a foreigner. I'm glad I'm here. On those days when I'm in a western frame of mind, I can find a western milieu. If I'm in an eastern frame of mind, the mountains around three sides of West Lake drip with ancient Chinese culture. Hangzhou is both old and new.

And interesting.

I'll add more stories about life in Hangzhou in later chapters. But that's it for Chapter 13. Or as my students would say....

FINISH!!!

More photos in the Photo Gallery Sections:

MY HANGZHOU FRIENDS

MY ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

PHOTOS OF THE MOMENT

The Hangzhou Tour:

HANGZHOU THRU THE AGES
Background and history of Hangzhou from other sources old and new, East and West.

WEST LAKE TOUR
A photo tour of Hangzhou's West Lake.

HANGZHOU TOUR
An illustrated tour of some of the most beautiful, famous, and interesting spots in and around Hangzhou.

HANGZHOU THRU MY EYES
Hangzhou today, IMHO.